Hykangoos for the High Alps

Dean Sigler Diesel Powerplants, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

The French Postal Service has run a small fleet of electric Renault Kangoos for at least the last five years, and has over 10,000 on order for their fleet.  With additional orders from postal services in Europe, Asia and Australia, the Kangoo may rival the Leaf or Tesla’s Model S for ubiquity. The little van’s 170 kilometer (105.4 mile) range works perfectly well within towns and cities, but is not nearly adequate for extended drives into the mountains and rural stretches of France, a country the size of Texas and far more mountainous.  A hybrid solution comes to mind, but La Poste has come up with a very different type of hybrid – one that may have an application in aircraft. The fleet will begin testing Symbio FCell fuel cell range extender kits on postal routes longer than 100 kilometers (62 miles), with UTBM (Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard) monitoring the trials.  Runs through the countryside in the Franche-Comté region …